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U.S. firms find tastes differ in Canada

(UPDATED COVERAGE, April 25) TORONTO — When it comes to showcasing product at the Canadian Produce Marketing Association’s annual convention and expo, it’s clearly not U.S. customers and consumers exhibitors are trying to reach — and it’s not just the French language on packaging.

“I think the palate is a little more adventurous here with the Canadian consumers,” said Ernst Van Eeghen, director of marketing and product development for Salinas, Calif.-based Church Bros. LLC.

The company showcased foodservice packs of Italian Greens under the Tuscan label, featuring black and scarlet baby kale and wild arugula, a product available for the first time in Canada.

“It’s not very easy for companies like us to talk to independent restaurants and smaller chains (in Canada),” Van Eeghen said. “So (the CPMA expo) is an opportunity where we can talk not just our customers and distributors, but also their customers and sales people. We need to help them sell.”

“It’s all about the demographics,” she said on April 19, the second day of the expo.

Manos and several other exhibitors said traffic was slower on the show floor that day, but it didn’t take away from their overall goal: meeting key customers.

CPMA reported attendance of 3,933, a 43% increase compared to the 2009 convention, the last time it was in Toronto.

CPMA brought 250 area produce managers for a one-day program, which included walking the trade show floor. Produce managers are the front-line personnel, interacting most with consumers, said Ron Lemaire CPMA president, so it’s important to help educate that group.

Toward that effort, CPMA is launching a Certified Produce Professional program.

New Event

Lemaire said the association focused on children with its outreach programs, creating a kindergarten through grade 6 curriculum for educators to help boost consumption among school children

“Since October, we’ve had more than 3,000 unique downloads for that program,” Lemaire said.

This year, the association is focusing on health.

CPMA has a new summit this summer, which will include a cross-section of health and industry professionals. The summit is planned for Ottawa June 12-13.

CPMA also is launching a community platform as part of its website, which is not only for the produce industry, but also for health professionals, so the two groups can share information.

“As we being to work more in the health community, we’ll be leveraging that platform,” Lemaire said.

Walt Breeden, who officially became CPMA chairman during the conference, said the board in the next year plans to focus on some key areas:

Training for members;

Expanding work with allied partners, including regional association partners;

“One of my core messages, and the theme of the 2014 convention and trade show, will be eat healthy! Live healthy!” said Breeden, director of sales and citrus category manager for Canada for Vancouver-based The Oppenheimer Group, during the association’s annual banquet on April 19.

“In driving this simple message, I will be supporting CPMA’s primary collective goal, established in 2011, to increase produce consumption and improve consumer health and industry prosperity,” he said.

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Chris Koger, News Editor

News editor Chris Koger has been with The Packer since joining the paper as a staff writer in 2000. Since then, he has also been markets editor and sections editor; he became news editor in October 2006.
He assigns stories and photos for the weekly paper and works with writers and other editors in the news room to ensure The Packer’s website is updated.
Before joining The Packer’s staff, Chris worked at daily newspapers across Kansas, covering everything from the cops and courts beats to government, health and school news in Dodge City, Hutchinson, Salina and Lawrence.
He graduated from Kansas State University in 1990 with a bachelor of arts degree in journalism and mass communications.